Linux Kernel up to 5.10.162/5.15.86/6.0.17/6.1.3 ext4 ext4_evict_inode use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.162/5.15.86/6.0.17/6.1.3 and classified as critical. Affected is the function ext4_evict_inode of the component ext4. Such manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2022-50377. There is no available exploit. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.162/5.15.86/6.0.17/6.1.3. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is the function ext4_evict_inode of the component ext4. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: check and assert if marking an no_delete evicting inode dirty In ext4_evict_inode(), if we evicting an inode in the 'no_delete' path, it cannot be raced by another mark_inode_dirty(). If it happens, someone else may accidentally dirty it without holding inode refcount and probably cause use-after-free issues in the writeback procedure. It's indiscoverable and hard to debug, so add an WARN_ON_ONCE() to check and detect this issue in advance.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2022-50377 since 09/17/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 03/05/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 265563 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2022-50377), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.163, 5.15.87, 6.0.18 or 6.1.4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 9020f56a3cad1c97b81c7dab2aa67027b59c8f73/91009e361e8cb2cbd1dc9496cb5fb4f8de3f4b11/0c026f975d24701766cf4ac63995ead9f6d57a59/f1ec687ebd1bf146333955b7e209d21508c3ba9f/318cdc822c63b6e2befcfdc2088378ae6fa18def is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (265563) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2092). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• Dell NetWorker

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.162
• 5.15.0
• 5.15.1
• 5.15.2
• 5.15.3
• 5.15.4
• 5.15.5
• 5.15.6
• 5.15.7
• 5.15.8
• 5.15.9
• 5.15.10
• 5.15.11
• 5.15.12
• 5.15.13
• 5.15.14
• 5.15.15
• 5.15.16
• 5.15.17
• 5.15.18
• 5.15.19
• 5.15.20
• 5.15.21
• 5.15.22
• 5.15.23
• 5.15.24
• 5.15.25
• 5.15.26
• 5.15.27
• 5.15.28
• 5.15.29
• 5.15.30
• 5.15.31
• 5.15.32
• 5.15.33
• 5.15.34
• 5.15.35
• 5.15.36
• 5.15.37
• 5.15.38
• 5.15.39
• 5.15.40
• 5.15.41
• 5.15.42
• 5.15.43
• 5.15.44
• 5.15.45
• 5.15.46
• 5.15.47
• 5.15.48
• 5.15.49
• 5.15.50
• 5.15.51
• 5.15.52
• 5.15.53
• 5.15.54
• 5.15.55
• 5.15.56
• 5.15.57
• 5.15.58
• 5.15.59
• 5.15.60
• 5.15.61
• 5.15.62
• 5.15.63
• 5.15.64
• 5.15.65
• 5.15.66
• 5.15.67
• 5.15.68
• 5.15.69
• 5.15.70
• 5.15.71
• 5.15.72
• 5.15.73
• 5.15.74
• 5.15.75
• 5.15.76
• 5.15.77
• 5.15.78
• 5.15.79
• 5.15.80
• 5.15.81
• 5.15.82
• 5.15.83
• 5.15.84
• 5.15.85
• 5.15.86
• 6.0.0
• 6.0.1
• 6.0.2
• 6.0.3
• 6.0.4
• 6.0.5
• 6.0.6
• 6.0.7
• 6.0.8
• 6.0.9
• 6.0.10
• 6.0.11
• 6.0.12
• 6.0.13
• 6.0.14
• 6.0.15
• 6.0.16
• 6.0.17
• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Discussion